What might keep the Washington Football Team from competing in 2020?
By Ian Cummings
No. 2 – A still-acclimating coaching staff
Just as the players will need time to take to the new coaching staff’s protocols, the new coaching staff itself will need time to thoroughly establish those protocols, as well as their practice preferences, schematic adjustments, and cultural standards.
There’s a reason why first-year head coaches generally have slightly lower mean expectations: Regardless of whether a head coach has previous experience, it can be difficult to reforge the roots of a franchise. Particularly in Washington’s case, those roots have driven deeply into an unstable foundation, which now must be upturned.
There will be times when the operating norms of the current coaching staff clash with the ingrained habits established by the near-decade-long reign of Jay Gruden. We’ve already seen it once, as Rivera got after his players earlier in the week for an uninspiring practice.
There’s reason to be optimistic for Rivera’s tenure with the Washington Football Team, but as we’ve said numerous times across this offseason: Rebuilds take time. Washington might show signs of eventual prominence in 2020, but it will be tough to truly compete during the acclimation period.